Auger type ice maker



Nov. 28, 1967 CQBEUSCH ET AL. I 3,354,666

AUGER TYPE ICE MAKER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 11, 1966 Nov. 28, 1967 Q sc ET AL AUGER TYPE ICE MAKER Filed Aug. 11, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent Ofifice 3,3545% Patented Nov. 28, 1967 3,354,666 AUGER TYPE ICE MAKER Christian Beusch and Friedrich Tinner, both of Bahnhofstrasse 29, Buchs, Switzerland Filed Aug. 11, 1966, Ser. No. 571,934 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Aug. 17, 1965, 11,536/65 2 Claims. (Cl. 62-354) ABSTRAUI' F THE DISCLGSURE This invention is addressed to a continuous ice cube making machine wherein use is made of a vertically disposed cylindrical section which is jacketed for flow of coolant therethrough with the inner surface of the cylindrical section wet with water to congeal ice thereon and a screw conveyor having blades dimensioned to scrape the surface for removal of formed ice with the spacing between the blades increasing in the direction of displacement for substantial axial displacement of the removed ice to a vented compression section where the wet ice is compressed and extruded through a perforated plate of decreasing thickness with a vent in the extrusion zone for removal of air from the compressed ice, said vent constituting grooves in the shaft and extending continuously through the plate in the extrusion zone and means for constricting the flow of coolant immediately in advance of the extrusion zone to minimize heat outflow.

The present invention relates to improvements to the production of ice.

Currently used methods of producing ice continuously suffer from the disadvantage that the ice is produced in the form of flakes or slush, which are unsuitable in certain applications.

According to the present invention is one aspect there is provided a method of producing ice in which water is passed continuously through a freezing zone and ice formed in said zone is extruded therefrom, air being vented from the ice prior to its extrusion.

Another object of the invention relates to an apparatus for producing ice continuously comprising conveyor means for pas-sing water continuously through a cooled zone in which freezing occurs, the conveyor means terminating in perforated extrusion means through which ice formed by said freezing is delivered, venting means being provided between the conveyor means and extrusion means for venting air from the ice in the pressing zone prior to extrusion thereof.

The invention allows ice to be manufactured continuously in the form of pressed cubes or lumps. The ice can be extruded into different shape according to requirement.

Other features, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent with reference to the following detailed description and drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a partially sectionalized elevation of the apparatus according to the teaching of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-section of the apparatus along line AA of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-section through the upper part of the screw conveyor alone;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the upper part of the screw conveyor together with the means for venting the air.

Referring to the drawings, apparatus for continuously producing ice in the form of lumps or coarse grains has a screw-conveyor 1 whose axis of rotation is substantially vertical. The turns of the screw-conveyor 1 are defined by a screw thread 2, and the axial cross-section of the spaces 3 between adjacent turns increases from the bottom to the top of the conveyor 1. The conveyor is mounted on a shaft the lower end 4 of which is drivingly connected to a motor through reduction gear inside of a box 28. The upper end 5 of the shaft is journalled in a bearing provided in a cap 18.

The screw conveyor 1 is mounted within a doublewalled cooling jacket 13 which has an inner wall 6 and a coaxially arranged outer wall 7 so that an annular hollow chamber 13 is formed. The cooling jacket 13 is provided at its lower end with a coolant inlet pipe 8 and at its upper end with a coolant outlet pipe 9. The coolant for circulation through the chamber 13 is cooled in a not shown refrigerating unit of any convenient known kind, for example a compressor cooler. A suitable coolant fluid for circulating in the refrigerating unit and the chamber is that sold under the trademark Freon. An annular baffle 11 is provided in the jacket 13 adjacent the outlet 10 for constricting or restricting the flow of coolant.

The baffle 11 prevents droplets of the coolant which have not evaporated on the jacket 13 from passing directly through the outlet pipe 9. In operation, the cooling jacket 13 has a temperature of about 5 to 12 C., and preferably about 8 C. An insulating layer 10 is provided around the outer wall 7 of the cooling jacket 13.

Adjacent the upper end of the cooling jacket 13, which is preferably made of aluminium, there is a neck 12 of short axial extent which serves to reduce the thermal conductivity from the conveyor 1. The neck 12 is in effect a continuation of the inner wall 6 of the cooling jacket 13. Above the neck 12 there is a radially outwardly projecting annular shoulder 14 towhich an annular flange 16 is bolted. A cap 18 is mounted on the flange 16 and defines therewith a hollow chamber 17. A scraper blade 24 fixed on the conveyor 1 is rotatably mounted in the chamber 17. At the upper end of the screw conveyor there.

is provided extrusion means in the form of an annular metal plate 20 containing a number of perforations 22 or openings. The plate 20 is arranged coaxially with the conveyor 1 and fixed on the annular flange 16. The upper end 5 of the conveyor shaft 1 passes through the central aperture of the plate 20. The perforations 22 in the pressure plate 20 are spaced from the middle part and have convergent cross-sections which decrease through the thickness of the plate from the bottom to the top thereof, as shown in FIGURE 2. The convergence of each perforation 22 is such that the cross-section decreases by 2% to 18%, and preferably by between 8% and 12%, across the thickness of the plate 20.

The scraper blade 24 positioned just above the plate 20 is mounted on the same shaft as the screw conveyor 1 and rotates together with the shaft. The annular flange 16 is provided with at least one discharge opening 25 which communicates with an inclined delivery pipe 26.

At the upper end of the screw conveyor 1 it is necessary to provide special means for venting the air which accumulates underneath the plate 20 in the pressing zone. As shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 an axially extending deepened notch 34 is formed in the surface of the conveyor 1, said notch passing in axial direction through the last turn of the conveyor screw. The notch 34 communicates with a tangentially arranged groove 30 (FIGURE 4) provided in the upper end surface 33 of the conveyor screw 1. The upper end 50f the conveyor shaft is provided with a channel or flattened portion 32 extending axially in the surface of the shaft Where the shaft passes through the plate 20. Notch 34, groove 30 and channel 32 form a passage which allows the air to be vented from the upper end of the conveyor 1 into the chamber 17 which is open to the ambient air over the delivery pipe 26.

The method of operation of the ice-producing apparatus described above is as follows:

The screw conveyor 1 is driven slowly through the reduction gear 28 for example at to 40 rpm, and preferably at about 22 rpm. Water is introduced at the lower end of the screw conveyor 1 through an inlet (not shown) at a rate of about 3 gallons per hour and coolant is circulated; through chamber 13 in the cooling jacket 11 by way of the inlet and outlet pipes 8, 9 to cool the jacket 11 to a temperature of about 8 C.

The water supplied to the conveyor 1 freezes on the inner surface of the inner wall 6, from which it is continuously removed by the scraping action of the threads 2 of the conveyor 1, and conveyed upwards. The fact that the axial cross-sections of the spaces 3 increase with increasing distance from the inlet end of the conveyor 1, as dqficIibed above, prevents the scraped off ice from rotating together with the conveyor screw, and consequently the ice is conveyed vertically upwards without substantial rotatijon.

At the upper end of the conveyor 1 the ice, which is at this point in the form of a slush, is extruded by the action of the last turn of the conveyor screw through the perforations 22 in the plate 20, whereby the ice in soft condition is somewhat compressed. The convergent shape of the perforations 22, causes the loose ice slush to be compressed into rods which emerge slowly through the upper surface of the plate 20. These compressed rods of ice are cut off above the surface of the plate by the rotating scraper blade 24. In this Way cubes or lumps of ice are formed which are then moved by the scraper blade 24 to the discharge opening 25 and thence to the delivery pipe 26;

During the process of compressing the ice in the plate 20 air is forced out and this air tends to accumulate near the upper end of the screw conveyor 1 beneath the plate 20 in the pressing region. This air escapes into the chamber 17 by way of the notch 34, the groove 30 and channel 32. Experiments have shown that without this venting facility it is not possible to manufacture ice continuously and satisfactorily in tube or lump form, because the accumulated air or other gases. expels the water supplied and prevents the, ice slush from being conveyed upwards.

It will be appreciated that, instead of the perforations 22 in the plate 20 as represented in the drawings it would be possible to provide tapered drillings or openings of other shapes in the plate 20.

The ice which is pressed in such manner into the form of cubes or coarse gains is softer than ice which is grown in a mould having a very hard core. The ice produced with the apparatus according to the, invention is easier to crush or cut in machines, and this is desirable in many fields of application, e.g. in the industry for preparing food or for chirurgical purposes.

While there is shown and described present preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and practised within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for producing ice continuously comprising means defining a cooling zone, conveyor means for passing water continuously into said cooling zone to cause freezing of the water, extrusion means at the delivery end of the conveyor means for extruding ice from the conveyor means and venting means between the conveyor means and extrusion means for venting air from the ice prior to extrusion thereof, the extrusion means comprises a perforated plate at the delivery end of the conveyor means, a shaft carrying the screw conveyor passes through the perforated plate, the venting means includes a channel extending axially in the surface of the shaft where said shaft passes through the plate, and at least one scraper blade mounted on the side of the extrusion means remote from the conveyor means.

2. Apparatus for continuously producing ice, comprising a hollow cooling jacket, means for introducing water into said jacket at the lower end, cooling means for cooling said jacket to cause freezing of said water in the inside of said jacket, a screw conveyor rotatably mounted within said jacket for transporting the ice formed along the wall of said jacket to a pressing zone formed at the delivery end of the conveyor with the spacing between flights of the screw conveyor increasing with increasing distance from the inlet end of the conveyor, said conveyor being disposed upright so that said ice being conveyed in direction to said pressing zone, means for rotating said screw conveyor, a horizontally disposed, flat, perforated plate located above the upper delivery end of the conveyor, the perforations in said perforated plate decrease with increasing distance from said screw conveyor, venting means between the conveyor means and the extrusion means for venting air from the ice prior to extrusion thereof to the outside of the apparatus, in which said venting means includes a shaft that carries the screw conveyor and extends through the center of the perforated plate and a channel extending axially in the surface of the portion of the shaft which passes through the plate to communicate the area beneath the plate with the area above the plate, scrapingmeans near the upper side of the perforated plate for cutting off the compressed ice, said scraping means being mounted on the upper end of said screw conveyor, housing means surrounding said scraping means and having at least one delivery opening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,034,311 5/1962 Nelson 62-354 X 3,196,628 7/1965 Reynolds 62-354 X 3,205,673 9/1965. Soderberg 62-71 3,245,225 4/1966 Wallace 62320 3,256,710 6/1966 Dedricks et al 62-354 X 3,276,223 10/ 1 966 Lunde 62354 X EDWARD 1. MICHAEL, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, Examiner.

W. WAYNER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ICE CONTINUOUSLY COMPRISING MEANS DEFINING A COOLING ZONE, CONVEYOR MEANS FOR PASSING WATER CONTINUOUSLY INTO SAID COOLING ZONE TO CAUSE FREEZING OF THE WATER, EXTRUSION MEANS AT THE DELIVERY END OF THE CONVEYOR MEANS FOR EXTRUDING ICE FROM THE CONVEYOR MEANS AND VENTING MEANS BETWEEN THE CONVEYOR MEANS AND EXTRUSION MEANS FRO VENTING AIR FROM THE ICE PRIOR TO EXTRUSION THEREOF, THE EXTRUSION MEANS COMPRISES A PERFORATED PLATE AT THE DELIVERY END OF THE CONVEYOR MEANS, A SHAFT CARRYING THE SCREW CONVEYOR PASSES THROUGH THE PERFORATED PLATE, THE VENTING MEANS INCLUDES A CHANNEL EXTENDING AXIALLY IN THE SURFACE OF THE SHAFT WHERE SAID SHAFT PASSES THROUGH THE PLATE, AND AT LEAST ONE SCRAPER BLADE MOUNTED ON THE SIDE OF THE EXTRUSION MEANS REMOTE FROM THE CONVEYOR MEANS. 